Never grow up
by bonesmad
Summary: Alexis will always be her fathers little girl, and he never wants her to grow up. But she has to.


Don't own Castle... or taylor swift unfortunately :(

but i do love them both!

_Your little hand's wrapped around my finger_  
_And it's so quiet in the world tonight_

He smiled as she tightened her grip around his thumb in her sleep. She looked so peaceful sound asleep in his arms. He wondered for minute if she had any idea that the only reason the apartment was so silent was because her mother had left her, walked out on them both.

_Your little eyelids flutter cause you're dreaming_  
_So I tuck you in, turn on your favourite night light_

She moves suddenly and he thinks she's about to wake as he carries the toddler up the stairs, but he notices her eyelids quiver and realises she's simply dreaming. He pulls the blanket over her and leans across the bed to switch on the green yoda night light she had picked.

_To you everything's funny, you got nothing to regret_  
_I'd give all I have, honey_  
_If you could stay like that_

The little ewok on the couch about him was doubled over in laughter. Tears falling down her cheeks as she struggled to breath. He sighed and tried to get up. He should have known a merman costume would be a bad idea. Although seeing her laugh like that so full of joy, was well worth the bruise.

_Oh darling, don't you ever grow up  
Don't you ever grow up, just stay this little  
Oh darling, don't you ever grow up_

"Daddy it's ok don't worry they're just shoes!" she said with a slight whistle coming through the gap in her teeth.

"No it's not. It's school shoes! Pretty sure that means you have to have your grown up chip inserted soon." He pouted and sat on the yellow child sized stool as she walked up and down in the practical black strappy shoes.

"Were the out of them the day you were meant to get one Daddy?" she asked and he looked up wondering was she joking or serious. Then he smiled as his little angel smiled back.

_Don't you ever grow up, it could stay this simple  
I won't let nobody hurt you, won't let no one break your heart  
And no one will desert you  
Just try to never grow up, never grow up  
_

"One more!" she huffed as he turned the camera to get a different angle.

"Daddy if we don't leave now I am going to be late." He lowered the camera.

"Alexis we have a half an hour for a five minute walk."

"I want to be early." She straightened her collar once more.

"Tell me the rules once more and then we can go."

"Don't correct the teacher too often even when she's wrong. Don't alphabetise the books on the first day…" she paused.

"And the most important one." He picked up his coat.

"Don't talk to any boys unless they are asking for directions." He grinned that's my girl.

_You're in the car on the way to the movies_  
_And you're mortified your mom's dropping you off_

"Dad can't you take me!" she said quietly as her mother flitted around the apartment.

"Alexis she comes to town once every six months just let her drop you in." he said mussing her hair.

"She'll do something embarrassing! Last time she insisted on coming with us!"

_At 14 there's just so much you can't do  
And you can't wait to move out someday and call your own shots_

"uh I can't wait to have my own place then I might actually get some privacy! She said as she stormed up the stairs.

"I told you it was an accident!" he called after her.

"You accidentally opened my emails?" she stuck her head back down.

"I thought it was mine…" he said pathetically. She huffed and slammed her door.

_But don't make her drop you off around the block  
Remember that she's getting older too_

"Ice-cream. Now." Alexis said sitting at the counter behind her father. He walked to the fridge and opened it. putting it on the counter beside her with a spoon.

"What did she do now." He asked leaning on the counter.

"She insisted on coming shopping with us." She said digging into the tub. "Even though I asked her to drop me off a Lela's."

"She jus…" he started but his daughter cut him off.

"and it turned out she was wearing one of my tops and she bought everything I looked at in the shops. For herself." He paused for a second.

"She just wants to spend time with you Alexis. She gets to come to town once every few months and she just wants to spend as much time with you as she can." His fifteen year old look straight at him.

"Then she shouldn't have left."

_And don't lose the way that you dance around in your pj's getting ready for school_

She jumped on his bed winding him slightly.

"Wake up!" she shouted pulling the covers off him. "I got it!"

"Got what?"  
"The summer education course." She grinned at him and handed him a letter.

"oh yes the non-compulsory summer school." He sat up.

"I got in! this is going to be amazing on my college applications!"

"You are not my child. Extra school! Who does that." He got out of bed and laughed as she danced ahead of him to the kitchen.

_[ Lyrics from: lyrics/t/taylor_swift/never_grow_ ]_  
_Oh darling, don't you ever grow up  
Don't you ever grow up, just stay this little  
Oh darling, don't you ever grow up  
Don't you ever grow up, it could stay this simple  
No one's ever burned you, nothing's ever left you scarred  
And even though you want to, just try to never grow up  
_

"That was cruel! You tortured that poor boy." Martha said sitting on the couch beside her son.

"What he needs to be afraid of me." He shrugged.

"he's her first boyfriend. Give them a break. It's innocent enough."

"That's the problem mother."

"What is?"  
"she has a boyfriend. She's growing up."

_Take pictures in your mind of your childhood room  
_

Slowly she picked them up. One by one. Photo after photo. One of her mother with her in the hospital the day she was born. One of her father and her at the park. One of her and her grandmother singing. One of her and her father in full laser tag gear. One of her and Kate rock climbing. And one of her, her father and Kate on their wedding day. The collection had been slowly building up on her bedroom shelf but now they were in a box on her bed. She took one last look around the cream and pink room that she'd lived in her entire life and then came face to face with her father. He was standing at the door watching her. smiling.

_Memorize what it sounded like when your dad gets home_

She closed the book and looked around just in time to see her father hold up his gun.

"You really think that after eighteen years I don't know the sound of our front door opening."  
"I thought you were engrossed in your book."  
"It's Anna Karenina, I could recite it in my sleep." She smiled. "The key makes one single click when you turn it."

_Remember the footsteps, remember the words said_

She turned over as she heard the front door close, Kate was finally home. this was a normal sound when ever she was working on a serial case, next the kettle would go on and her father would come out of their room and they'd talk quietly, then as her father made a cup of decaf coffee, Kate would sneak upstairs and look into two of the three bedrooms. Then she'd go back down and they'd talk quietly for an hour or so. She smiled and closed her eyes when her bedroom door opened. She loved that sound.

_And all your little brother's favorite songs  
_

Joey sat inn front of the television bouncing along to one of those incredibly annoying children's shows. She was surprised he hadn't worn out the ti-vo box playing that one over and over again. she smiled and kissed the top of his head and walked out the door. stopping half way down the hall when she realised she was humming the tune now too.

_I just realized everything I have is someday gonna be gone_

it was so rare that we all sat down for dinner anymore. Between work, book tours and college one or all of them was normally missing. And now his baby girl was leaving for a new job in a new city, and the dinners together would become an endangered species.

_So here I am in my new apartment  
In a big city, they just dropped me off  
It's so much colder that I thought it would be  
So I tuck myself in and turn my night light on  
_

She'd smiled, waved and watched as the car turned off at the end of the street. My whole family had come to drop me off with the last of my boxes. The apartment was gorgeous. My fathers last present for his little girl. The city was buzzing around me. Even at this hour. Dad had taken forever to leave, it had taken me giving Kate a look and her taking his hand and kissing it for him to finally leave. She walked back up the steps and into her apartment. The apartment felt cold even though the heating was on. It just felt empty. So she shrugged off her shoes and curled up in her new bed, with the sheets Kate had picked out for her. she reached out then stopped herself for a second before reaching into the box and pulling out the now old yoda and plugging it in.

_Wish I'd never grown up  
I wish I'd never grown up_

she put her laser tag gear on the top of the case and grinned. Time to go home.


End file.
